SIM cards vulnerable to hacking, says researcher

Millions of mobile phones may be vulnerable to spying due to the use of outdated, 1970s-era cryptography, according to new research due to be presented at the Black Hat security conference.

SIM cards vulnerable to hacking

Karsten Nohl, an expert cryptographer with Security Research Labs, has found a way to trick mobile phones into granting access to the device's location, SMS functions and allow changes to a person's voicemail number.

Nohl's research looked at a mobile phones' SIM (Subscriber Identification Module), the small card inserted into a device that ties it to a phone number and authenticates software updates and commands sent over-the-air from an operator.

More than 7 billion SIM cards are in use worldwide. To ensure privacy and security, SIM cards use encryption when communicating with an operator, but the encryption standards use vary widely.
A mobile communication trade group, the GSM Association, said in a statement that only a "minority" of SIM cards that use older encryption standards would appear to be vulnerable.

"There is no evidence to suggest that today's more secure SIMs, which are used to support a range of advanced services, will be affected," GSMA said.

SIM cards vulnerable to hacking, says researcher | Network World